Norwich City face two transfer concerns, one involves Borja Sainz | OneFootball

Norwich City could be sweating over two potential transfer scenarios ahead of the January window

How Norwich City opt to navigate the upcoming January transfer window will surely play a huge part in where they end up come the end of the 2024/25 Championship campaign.

The Canaries had a mixed summer window under Johannes Hoff Thorup, who sourced some intriguing continental acquisitions but was powerless to prevent the departure of talismanic Brazilian midfielder Gabriel Sara and later the more contentious manner in which Jon Rowe and Abu Kamara both left Carrow Road.

At this moment in time, Norwich find themselves stuck in something of a rut, albeit one inflicted by miserable luck on the injury front. Josh Sargent is poised to wait until the new year to return to action after suffering a groin injury, while the likes of Marcelino Nunez, Angus Gunn and Ashley Barnes have also spent time on the sidelines as of late.

Norwich had started the campaign well under Thorup, who mounted impressive victories over Watford, Derby County and Hull City in particular. However, they're now winless in their last seven matches - three of which have been defeats - and find themselves in 13th position, seven points shy of sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion after 16 games.

A top six finish will surely be the bare minimum target for the Canaries, who relieved David Wagner of his duties after last season's play-off second-leg hammering at the hands of Leeds United. With that in mind, both retention and acquisition are going to be vitally important for Norwich in the winter window, which commences in just over a month's time, and we've decided to take a look at two transfer concerns that may await them.

Losing Borja Sainz

It's hardly an astounding revelation that Norwich are going to be sweating over the immediate future of Borja Sainz, who has been the Championship's form player this season.

The Spanish winger showed flashes of excellent for the Yellows last time out but has taken his game up a notch under Thorup, who has seemingly unleashed Sainz. At the time of writing, he's the league's leading goalscorer with 11 strikes in 16 appearances, along with a further two assists for good measure.

Unsurprisingly, then, Sainz already appears to be the subject of widespread interest ahead of January. According to reports, Galatasaray are interested in prizing away a second star from Norfolk by eyeing Sainz, who is also believed to have admirers back in his homeland.

As per Radio Popular de Bilbao, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Club and Villarreal are all interested in a move for Sainz. The 23-year-old is said to prefer a move to the Spanish capital, which really isn't too much of a shock either, although he does hail from the Basque Country and a move to Bilbao certainly can't be ruled out entirely.

Sainz has no shortage of suitors, but equally, Norwich have no intentions of letting him go and have already voiced as much. In a recent interview with The Pink Un, Canaries owner Mark Attanasio said: "We don't need to sell Borja in January. Frankly, we don't need to sell them ever.

"We can control what we can control, in regards what happens to our players.

"It's just at some point there's an element of fairness, if I understand the ecosystem, where if you're getting offered a very fair price, and it doesn't have to be an extreme price, and it's something that someone wants to do then you have to look at it."

Judging from Attanasio's comments, Norwich will not be interested in parting ways with him easily and will need to receive a substantial offer to even consider doing so. Every player has a price, mind you, and Norwich are certainly no strangers to selling their prized assets on for handsome fees.

Retaining Sainz until the end of the season at the very least is paramount, but there's always a possibility that a player in such rich goalscoring form will be lured away elsewhere and that has to be treated as a concern for Norwich - despite Attanasio's bullish verdict.

Failing to sign a right-sided winger

While Norwich possess two of the most potent forwards the Championship has to offer in Sainz and Sargent, there is a missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to Thorup's front three.

The wide-right position is a real concern which simply must be addressed in January, but there's a worry that Norwich may fail to take action. Various players have been tried and tested, admittedly some out of position, though the position is yet to be truly locked down and supporters will anxiously hope Norwich source the right calibre and profile to complete the side's attacking trident on the right-hand side.

Liverpool loanee Kaide Gordon has played just 165 minutes of league football following his summer arrival and Christian Fassnacht is yet to even rack up 90 minutes and seemingly doesn't score highly whatsoever in Thorup's thinking, while Ante Crnac - a striker by trade - has also featured wide-right and is yet to hit the ground running, though time and patience will be required, and Forson Amankwah and Oscar Schwaratu have played there, albeit out of position too.

It's very much a case of fitting square pegs into round holes at the minute, and that will continue to be the reality until Norwich sign a player capable of stamping down their authority on that position - unless Fassnacht and Gordon, the side's two natural candidates for the role, receive increased minutes.

You do feel that this outcome - whether they end up signing a right-sided winger or not - will have a big impact on just where Norwich finish the season. Signing one of the required quality, however, isn't going to be easy and Norwich may need to raise funds in order to strike the kind of deal which would complete their attack.